A few days ago, I posted a tip about not overusing the word “suddenly”.
But aside from “suddenly”, we all know that there are plenty of other words we can overuse and not even notice.
So out of curiosity, I googled “overused words”, hoping to get a list I can look at, instead I got links to websites with editing tools that can help you search for overused words and also catch other mistakes. Woohooh!
If you’re in the middle of editing your manuscript, I suggest you check out the links below.
Note: I’ve only tried Pro Writing Aid, and so far, it’s pretty helpful.
http://www.prowritingaid.com/analyse.htm?
http://www.autocrit.com/cs-cart/pricing.php
http://www.christophermpark.com/manalyzer.php
If you want more tips on overused words, here is a link to author, Terry Odell’s blog:
http://terryodell.blogspot.com/2011/02/over-and-over-and-overused-words.html
Yes, I know I’ve overused the words overuse/overused/overusing on this post. But I’m trying to make a point. 
Corey, Thanks for these!
It would also seem that a writer might benefit from keeping a list of words he or she tends to use frequently; similar to a style sheet. Then he can do a simple word search for those words at the beginning of the editing process. And if he’s not completely satisfied can go on to use these other writing aids.
Great idea Julie. You’re right. I think each writer tends to overuse specific words and listing them down would be a good way to keep track of them.
Suddenly, Smile, and Step and my biggest problems. I don’t even see them. I need my betas to point them out. Funny, I just wrote a series of blog posts about this very subject too. Must be a hot topic on everyone’s minds!
It’s good to know that it’s a hot topic because it’s a common mistake that can easily be missed.
I think I’ve used “so”, “realized”, “noticed” way too much. I’m sure I’ll discover more overused words after I use the editing tools.
Another tool I used was Grammerly. You have to pay for it but it was invaluable in editing a very early draft. It taught me things that I then was able to correct on my own without putting my text into the “analyze” box. There are scam warnings out there but I didn’t have any problems.
I’ll check out Grammerly. I am a little hesitant to use the free tools.
Thanks for the tip.